


The step that didn't count

by ShadowSelene (Shadowdianne)



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-19
Updated: 2016-01-19
Packaged: 2018-05-14 23:47:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5763574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadowdianne/pseuds/ShadowSelene
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I trust you” She heard herself saying, the borrowed time she had taken from Snow slowly thinning as she talked. “I will be with you, whatever it takes for you to realize that you aren’t responsible for any of this”</p>
            </blockquote>





	The step that didn't count

**Author's Note:**

> Dedicated to swanmillsq over tumblr for being my 900 follower a few weeks ago. The prompt I was asked to fulfill was "first kiss trope". Hope you all like it!

Regina frowned when yet another scream reached her ears from some point below them, their steps echoing against the hard rock of which the stairs they had been descending from what it seemed to be miles were made off. Raising her hand a little bit higher she let the fireball that had been with them the second the gates had been opened to shine just slightly stronger, creating shuddering shadows behind and in front of her, the darkness surrounding them seeming to look at them with watchful eyes that blinked as Regina stared defiantly into them.

The blonde in front of her didn’t slow down however and as Regina lowered her hand again, silently glad that no monster or creature seemed to be lurking near them, she shook her head, tilting it to one side as she kept descending, her brown eyes set on the leathery-clothed back of no other but Emma Swan.

Regina still didn’t know when had been the moment where she had started to trust Emma and see her more than just a nuance, a threat. She really couldn’t remember when she had started to consider her thoughts and ideas as another part that needed to be thought about, discussed about. If she needed to be truthful the first time she had looked into those green eyes and feel secure had been after they had managed to get Henry back, the boy hugging both of them, making them share a hopeful, yet tired, look that had made Regina smile, Emma smiling back at her shyly before looking at something the brunette didn’t know what it was.

She could remember vividly the way her heart had hurt after they had returned to the enchanted forest, the thought of not being able to see Henry grown up painful enough but Emma, damned Emma, had been also there, a shadow, an specter that seemed to move far too quickly for her to reach her and yet real enough for her to wake up every morning with an ashen taste under her mouth, like an omen that had hovered over her until the day she had entered in Granny’s dinner and she had found herself staring into Henry’s first, and Emma’s second, confused eyes.

She knew, however, that that wasn’t the whole truth and it had been maybe the moment when they had paired up in order to find her sister the moment she had realized that there was an implicit trust between Emma and herself, a softness that seemed to grow between the fears and anger that had been feeding on her since the day the first curse was created. A fear that every time she looked at Emma seemed to shrink, powerless against the warmth the blonde created.

She still couldn’t pinpoint the moment when she had craved the blonde’s voice, when she had missed the opportunities to talk to her, when she had been so furious that everything she had wanted was to know that they still were the women they had once been. Emma was the only one who saw her as Regina, the Regina she had been, the Regina that seemed to be slowly drowning as prophecy after prophecy and whispers of ancient tales seemed to grow around her with every step she took.

She couldn’t remember, and yet, as she kept descending the stairs, magic and death whispering thoughts of loss and anger on her ears, she knew that she had the answer, one that she forever would know about.

Looking at her back she saw the rest of the group carefully descending the stairs, their eyes focused mainly on the road ahead, both Charmings holding each other, their hands interlaced in a tight hold as they kept walking, Snow’s eyes looking directly at the retreating back of Emma, almost in the same way Regina had been doing until a few seconds before.

“Snow” She heard herself saying, a whisper that echoed on the misleading emptiness. The woman who  once had been her greatest foe nodded, her eyes looking at her for a second before returning to Emma’s figure, a sigh escaping her lips.

“Go”

A part of Regina’s old self growled at that, muttering that she didn’t need the permission of someone like Snow but also a part of the former queen knew that she needed to look at the other woman like Snow needed to keep holding onto her husband’s hand as they kept descending the stairs, the smell of souls slowly rotting near the rivers that lead to Hades surrounding them by now, weakening their resolve.

Regina let the fireball on her hand shrink just a little, shadows now licking her feet every time she took a step, Emma’s almost invisible by now. Taking a deep breath she left the rest of the group behind, her feet echoing faster, the sound growing at her back like wings that kept making her go forward, her brown eyes searching for Emma as she did so.

The blonde had stopped a few steps before the ending of the stairs, the rest of the place bathed in darkness, her eyes looking at it stubbornly, green dots of light that Regina found herself craving to be able to see them light up with sarcasm and strength once again.

“Emma” She called, waiting for the other woman to turn. When that didn’t happen she approached her, her hand finally letting the fireball go, knowing that it would be futile now to have it, knowing that Emma would not look at her while the fire was on, her face visible. “Emma” She whispered once again, in the middle of nothingness, her senses sharp and ready as darkness covered them like a blanket.

“It’s my fault” The blonde finally talked, her voice deep and tired.

“It’s not” The answer seemed stupid, one that would have make Regina scoff in another realm and when she heard the tired laugh at her side she knew that Emma was already doing so.

“I should have done this better, I should have been strong enough for him”

Regina bit her bottom lip, her hands fumbling against each other, magic cracking between her fingers as she did so.

“You did well” Sighing, she continued when she heard another laugh, this time bitter “You tried, and yes, you were an idiot, one that should have never thought on doing anything of what you did alone. But you tried either way”

“And look where that lead us”

“Hook was the one who decided to do the rest, you aren’t responsible for his actions”

And there it was, a rustle of air, the smell of cinnamon, the feeling of heat and warmth Regina had craved for too long to be a mistake anymore, a touch away, a millimeter away.

“Am I not?” And even though the sound was sarcastic Regina heard the relief on the other woman’s voice.

“No” She muttered back and as a slow sad smile parted her lips, painting itself on her face, Regina raised her hand once again, creating one single speck of magic fire that illuminated Emma’s tired eyes, painting the planes and angles of her face in red and black as green eyes shone, tears glowing on them.

_I love you_ was a stupid phrase that Regina had believed for far too long that would be dead for her, unreachable. And now, even though she had Robin, the word didn’t had the same imperious need to be free like it had done whenever Daniel was near. Unless Emma was near that is, in where it burn her tongue and lips, when it was almost in every breath she took and exhaled, written in her eyes for all the world to see.

“Regina….” She heard, but she didn’t let that stop her, in the brink of the underworld, a step away of death and memories that would have never been destroyed.

“I trust you” She heard herself saying, the borrowed time she had taken from Snow slowly thinning as she talked. “I will be with you, whatever it takes for you to realize that you aren’t responsible for any of this”

“I am” Emma whispered back. “Because if I’m not…”

Regina smiled, the fireball growing stronger for a second, yellow and red appearing in the air where her breathes touched, just a flickering second of color that seemed to fuel the fire.

The kiss was chaste, soft, sweet, warm.

It had Emma panting though when they parted, Regina’s own heart beating crazily on her chest, lips aching, magic swirling inside.

Snow and the rest of the gang appeared behind them, holding the torches David had decided to pack, Snow’s voice too loud as she greeted them and Regina knew their moment had ended.

Or perhaps, she thought seeing the new look Emma shared with her before turning to look at her mother, everything was about to start.


End file.
